“Don’t you dare… lie to me,” Fitz wheezed. “Do you think… there will be some…” he coughed, “… hot tail in Heaven?”
I let out a dry laugh, tears filling my eyes. “Of all the things to say.
“Give ‘em hell, brother,” Fitz mustered. His breaths were getting shallower.
“I will avenge you all. Rest easy, brother,” I said.
Fitz’s head went limp. I looked down at my fallen friend before resting my head on his chest. When I looked up, I was covered in blood. I knew some of it had to be mine, but the rest was his. My hands shook as I attempted to drag Fitz’s body to the vehicle.
Another explosion erupted in the building, sending me flying through the air and slamming me against the truck. At first, I didn’t feel anything. Then it hit me, a feeling like needles stabbing into every part of my body. A sharp pain exploded in my chest just before I lost consciousness.
I gasped as I came back into reality. I was in the basement of RSS, standing in front of the emergency showers in a small bathroom outside the interrogation room. I stripped off my blood-covered clothes, threw them into the trash bin and opened the small cabinet that held linens and extra clothes for Kade and me. After grabbing what I needed, I placed them on the counter next to the sink.
I took in my appearance and grimaced. This always happened when I looked at myself. Shrapnel had embedded itself all over my body in the explosion. In the center of my chest, covering the worst of the scarring, was a large cross for my team. The only uncovered scar was a jagged pink line through my eyebrow. I tried not to stare at it, but it was grotesque. Had the shrapnel gone an inch lower, I would have lost my eye.
I stepped into the shower and let my pain and sorrows wash down the drain with the blood that washed off my body.
SIX
MACHINE
I couldn’t seem to get Badger out of my head, and was still sore from our encounter days later and couldn’t seem to focus as I thought about my Bunny in that matching yoga set, the way her body moved as she went through the class. I’d gone to the gym every day since just to get a glimpse of the goddess that consumed my mind. Some may have thought it was creepy; I, however, couldn’t care less. I wanted her.
I got through as much work as my brain could handle. I was better in the real world, using my fists instead of typing away at a computer. That was Kade’s specialty. Mine was breaking people’s faces and getting answers. I guess that’s why he was in charge. If I were calling the shots, there would be a hell of a lot more turf wars going on. After spinning around in an office chair for a while and making sure that all of our men were working, I decided it was time to go to the gym for my workout.
I walked into Domino’s and swiped my new membership card, then headed to the locker room and quickly put my personal items away. I found it strange that the gym had a co-ed locker room. Not that I minded seeing sexy women getting naked, it was just a little jarring.
A short redhead gave me a double-take when she looked at my face. I was used to it at this point. The scar across my eyebrow seemed to pulse at the attention it was getting. I touched it instinctively, making the girl blush and walk off.
I shook my head, trying to shed the uneasy feeling I got whenever someone stared at me. I liked to blend into the background, but that was hard for someone who’s six foot four and built like a linebacker, not to mention the insane amount of scars and ink that covered my body.
I walked out to the main floor of the gym and made my way over to the weights. In front of me, a big burly dude was sparring in the boxing ring at the center of the gym. As he turned, I saw her; Badger wore a matching black sports bra and black yoga shorts, showing off her impeccable body. Her hair was in a high ponytail that swished in the air as she moved. She looked extra amped up today, moving faster than usual.
I started lifting weights, watching her closely. She was quick on her feet and danced all over the ring. The man sparring with her moved with ease as well, blocking most of her strikes, but he was still taking a beating.
“C’mon Buddha, take her down!” a blond man cheered on from the side of the ring.
Buddha clenched his jaw and threw a punch that just barely missed Badger’s cheek. The action made my blood boil.
I wasn’t sure where this possessiveness came from, but I knew that I hadn’t felt this worked up in a long time. Then the hit came. Badger was knocked down to the ground, and without thinking, I bolted toward the ring. She looked up and our eyes met in a split-second exchange that threatened to knock the breath right out of my chest.
SEVEN
BADGER
Machine charged toward me, all bulging muscles and tattoos. His brown hair was cut into a military hairstyle, and one of his eyebrows was a jagged scar. Dark hazel eyes met mine and his jaw clenched, emphasizing the sharp lines of his face. He looked lethal.
I stopped the fight before climbing out of the ring and throwing my hands up in the air.
“What are you doing here, Hammer?” I hissed. “You’ve been here, like, every day. Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”
Machine smirked. “Oh, keeping tabs on me I see.”
I let out a growl. “I was not keeping ‘tabs’ on you. Just hard to miss a newcomer who doesn’t put the weights back where they belong.”
Machine’s eyebrows pinched together. “That would be Charlie who doesn’t put the weights back. He always uses them after me.” He shrugged. “Kinda a weirdo.”
“You’re one to talk! There are like seven gyms in this area, and you just so happened to join Dominos after you came with Kade?” I don’t know why I cared if this man came here or not,but I knew that his presence made me feel weird in a way I couldn’t describe.
